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BRS Parachute for 6A

iaw4

Well Known Member
has anyone installed a BRS parachute in an RV6A?

it's purpose would not be primarily to rescue me, but to comfort my wife...although I can see that it could be useful if I do spin training or the like.
 
I?m planning to build one into my RV-10 at the appropriate time. I?ve contacted BRS Aerospace directly for information and they have been very responsive and helpful. For the RV-10, they make an off-the-shelf panel replacement, but I think the -10 is the only one.

I?m in a meeting and typing this under the desk, so I don?t have the respective weights of the 6 and 10 in front of me. It seems logical that you could simply install the -10 ejection panel in a -6, assuming the weight of the plane is similar enough you won?t get some kind of bad chute deployment. Assuming you could install it in a -6, the big question becomes the fairings for the cords. The -10 kit comes with housings / fairings and anchoring points all built to fit the shape of a -10. You would likely need to either heavily modify all of that for a -6 or make it from scratch.

As I said at the beginning, though, the people at BRS have been really responsive. If you ask, I?m sure they will answer!
 
has anyone installed a BRS parachute in an RV6A?

it's purpose would not be primarily to rescue me, but to comfort my wife...although I can see that it could be useful if I do spin training or the like.

Here you go (RV6 has the same basic fuselage as RV7 and RV9):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YtXWj2DI7g

I absolutely saw a DIY BRS installed on the web 15 yrs ago. It was very crude looking installation and was still a project at the time.

Understand the wife issue. I hope you can dissuade your wife. I know the argument is what happens if you have the big one in flight? Answer get a medical and assure her you are a fine human specimen and will out live her.....

Get her a few intro flight lessons. At least if you go flying she will have a chance to land the plane.... If you put a two axis autopilot in and show her how to use it, that might help.

What if engine quits. Fact is engines rarely quit if aircraft is well maintained (statistics don't lie). If it does quit the aircraft can glide to landing. The RV has a lower stall speed than a C-152 which means the landing even if rough it will be easily survivable. Flying in the RV will be safer than driving to the airport if you don't fly in bad weather or run out of gas (and you maintain proficiency and currency)... both easy to avoid rubbing a few brain cells together.
 
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WOW! That is a lot of weight pretty far aft.

You had better think twice.

It seems just a bit odd to me, if you are that concerned about safety, why are you building and flying an amateur built aircraft? Wouldn't you be better of with a factory built aircraft?

Just seems like like a person trying to have the safest aircraft available, wouldn't fly a kit, or a single for that matter.
 
My wife is scared in my 8. I wanted a 10, and thought I'd show it to her hoped she'd want to travel in it with me. The smallness, and bubble canopy are contributing factors. Most all of it is irrational fears. Like she wants to fly at 500' and feels much safer than at 10k. I try to explain engine out glide, birds, etc doesn't matter. I did a go around (that I know I could have landed) just to be extra safe and she almost had a heart attack, I tried to explain how it was doing the conservative thing, again irrational fear. She has wrecked every car she has owned (most of them multiple times), some of her friends will not ride with her, I almost never let her drive. She is very comfortable driving 1000 miles to meet me somewhere rather than ride in my well maintained airplane, and I fly for a living. Anyways, long story short I was going to keep the BRS as a trump card to convince her it was safe so I could build a 10. After thinking about it for a bit, I decided not to mention it (as I'd probably almost always do a forced landing over a chute deployment, likely never need it (statss), and it would kill some useful load, increase fuel burn, and slow me down some). However, I understand the why. I can't convince my wife to overcome irrational fears.
 
I was going to keep the BRS as a trump card to convince her it was safe so I could build a 10.

You want my prediction? Neither the BRS nor a 10 will change anything. She's afraid of flying, and unless and until that fear is overcome somehow, all the talk, plans, safety enhancements, etc., will be for nought (not to mention, complicating the plane and adding weight).

If you really want her to fly with you, you need to work with her to address the underlying issue: her fear of flying. It might be something about small planes, maybe not. Dunno. Not a shrink.

And you may ultimately have to accept the fact that she's never going to get over it. Hopefully not, but it's a possibility.
 
I have a friend who is a CFII, an FAA volunteer safety representative and one of the safest pilots I’ve ever flown with. Yet his wife (sadly now deceased due to cancer) never would fly with him...even for trips to visit grandkids in California. So they compromised; he bought her an airline ticket, and he flew the homebuilt airplane...for every trip.

My advice to you is build the plane you want, and find a satisfactory compromise for both of you.
 
It’s a phobia. My son is an aerospace engineer working on the F18 turbine and won’t fly with me and I can’t keep my wife out of the back seat of my(our) -8. My son knows too much and my wife doesn’t know enough! :) Works for me.
 
every post here resonates with me.

my wife also has one car accident per year. her irrational fear is that either the wings or the tail (rudder) will fall off. seriously. has it ever happened?

serious questions:

1. if one control cable breaks, does the airplane continue to be controllable?

2. for those of you who do aerobatics, would a parachute be a good idea?

I am pretty sure I will not install one. but I need argumentation advice...I am probably not the only one.
 
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Which cables are you talking about? It is all push/pull rods. There is a cable on tail wheels (or chains), if these broke you could use diff brakes, however I'd pick somewhere without a cross wind.

I do a little acro, I stay well within the envelope and don't push anything. Basic loops and such. I thought about a chute for a while then decided against it. The only thing I could think of was unrecoverable spin that would lead to me getting out. I don't think those are even possible in am RV, when in the envelope. I rarely exceed 4g, so not worried about damage. I guess I could have a bird strike that could damage the plane bad enough to where it couldn't fly.
 
every post here resonates with me.

my wife also has one car accident per year. her irrational fear is that either the wings or the tail (rudder) will fall off. seriously. has it ever happened?

Honestly? Yes, it's happened, but due to some other cause like exceeding g limits or the like.

You can't "argue" anyone into being comfortable with flight. And it's probably *worse* for a spouse or SO to try to do so...they need to understand their fears and work through them with someone who is as non-judgemental as possible. Yeah, yeah...we all think we're super-nice and understanding and all that, but I can assure you, no matter how great a partner you are, you're not THAT good, if they have a phobia or extremely heightened fear of __________.

And the more you try to "convince" them about something, the more pressure they will feel.

Now, if it's just and "I'm not sure...how safe is it? Can you tell me about it to help me be more comfortable?" kind of person, yeah, no worries. I've worked with plenty of those...a little trepidation at first, but some education and talking with them, and a brief intro flight and they realize there's really nothing to be scared of. They may never get *totally* comfortable with it, but they don't outright fear it.

But someone with a serious fear or phobia? Different ballpark.
 
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